Grilled Cheese with Turkey -- When the Smoker Rests, the Skillet Speaks

June 2025. Memphis summer, 66 years old, and the heat wraps around Orange Mound like a wet blanket that nobody asked for but everybody wears because that is the deal you make when you live in the South. The smoker calls louder in summer — something about the heat amplifying the smoke, the way humidity amplifies everything in Memphis — and I answer, because answering is what pitmasters do.

Tyrone came over for dominoes, bringing his competitive spirit and his inability to play without cheating, and the evening was full of the brotherly banter that is our love language.

I made cornbread in the cast iron skillet — buttermilk, cornmeal, bacon drippings, the recipe that goes back to Mama and before Mama to her mama and before that to wherever the tradition began. Baked at 425 until golden and crusty, the edges dark and lacy, the center soft and crumbling. Some weeks cornbread is enough. Some weeks the simplest food is the most profound.

The week ended on the porch with Rosetta, the evening settling over Orange Mound, the smoker cooling in the backyard. The fire was banked but not out — it's never out, just resting between cooks, holding the heat the way I hold the tradition: carefully, permanently, with the understanding that what Uncle Clyde gave me is not mine to keep but mine to pass, and the passing is the purpose.

The smoker was cooling and the cornbread was long gone, but the hunger that comes from a full evening of dominoes and brotherly banter doesn—t just disappear when the fire goes low. On nights like that one, when the porch holds you and you don’t want to let the evening end, I reach for the cast iron again — because the skillet that made Mama’s cornbread can just as easily make something warm and quick and deeply satisfying. This grilled cheese with turkey is exactly that: humble enough for a weeknight, good enough to honor the company.

Grilled Cheese with Turkey

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 4 slices sturdy white or sourdough bread
• 6 oz sliced deli turkey (smoked, if you can get it)
• 4 slices sharp cheddar or American cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the skillet. Place a cast iron skillet or heavy pan over medium heat and let it warm for about 2 minutes until evenly heated.
2. Butter the bread. Spread softened butter evenly on one side of each bread slice. If using Dijon mustard, spread a thin layer on the unbuttered side of two slices.
3. Build the sandwich. Layer cheese on the unbuttered side of two bread slices, then layer the turkey evenly on top of the cheese. Top each with a second bread slice, buttered side facing out.
4. Grill the first side. Place sandwiches butter-side down in the skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the bottom is deep golden brown and the cheese begins to melt.
5. Flip and finish. Carefully flip each sandwich and cook another 3 to 4 minutes until the second side is golden and the cheese is fully melted. Press gently with a spatula to encourage even browning.
6. Rest and serve. Remove from heat, let rest for 1 minute, then slice diagonally. Serve alongside pickles, hot sauce, or whatever the evening calls for.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 980mg